Netball Whanganui: Kaierau victorious in close Premier 1 battle with Marist

Cara Blake was part of Kaiwhaiki A1's formidable defence against Pirates A1. Photo / Steve Carle

The first game of the evening was an exciting match in the David Jones Motors Premier Netball Competition at Springvale Stadium on Monday.

Mint Marist A1 fought a tough and even battle against Kaierau Mitre 10 Mega A1, with the Marist side being down only three at halftime. Unfortunately, Kaierau GS Ashlee Murphy went down with an ankle injury in the first quarter, resulting in player-coach Rachael Lynch coming into the game at GA and Rebecca Benge dropping back to GS.

The experienced team did not fault with the change. The third quarter had some beautiful turnover ball, giving Marist the lead at three-quarter time. Coach TeOra Nyman made no changes going into the final quarter, with her team continuing to dig deep and collectively. However, errors began to creep in where Kaierau capitalised and scored, with Kara Adrole again this week changing bib into the shooting end for the final quarter.

The final score was 40-36 to Kaierau, giving Marist a well-earned bonus point. Outstanding shooting from Shannah Andrews-Steele earned her the Marist player of the day. Nyman was pleased with her team’s performance.

Pirates A1 struggled against a formidable Kaiwhaiki A1 defence in the second Premier 1 game. After an injury to their shooter last week, the Pirates team were forced to play new combinations, posing difficulty at this time of the season when teams are securing strong combinations working towards finals. WA Bridget Taiaroa fed the ball well, but full-court defensive pressure from Kaiwhaiki created a lot of turnover ball with young shooters Georgina Nauga, Merenia Ratana-Peina and TeWhetu o Te Ata Koro finding good rhythm, receiving quality ball from their feeders. Kaiwhaiki showed their dominance winning 41-16.

The final Premier 1 game was another exciting match-up between our two secondary schools, Phillips Electrical Whanganui High School A1 and Whanganui Collegiate School.

Both schools started steady, going goal for goal in most of the first quarter, but High School errors had Collegiate capitalise and take the lead 13-7 at the first break.

“Catch-up netball is hard netball to play,” coach Lisa Murphy said.

“We just didn’t play our usual solid game tonight. We are still low on numbers, with captain TeAri Paranihi on managed court time recovering from a knee injury, Ruby McIntyre still out with an ankle injury, and Mae Emmett overseas. But well done to Collegiate coach Elise Niu and her team, they have had a tough season and they showed tonight how they can regroup and play some lovely netball.”

Niu had one word, “proud”. Her defensive trio of Madi Duncan, Ash Morton and Niamh Rabbitte shone with impressive turnovers, providing a solid foundation for the team. Varni McDougall displayed outstanding attacking and defensive pressure at centre.

“We’ve been working hard on our attack phases so it was incredible to see the progress,” Niu said.

A special highlight was the debut of Bella Fantham Houia from the Junior A team. In her first premier netball game, Houia slotted some crucial goals, with the guidance of veteran shooter Lizzy Adrole who had a great performance at GA. With a solid final quarter, Collegiate took the game 38-32.

In Premier 2 games, Kaiwhaiki A2 are showing their dominance leading into finals, beating Mt View Marist A2 45-30. The Marist side clearly missed both their shooters, with several players taking the court out of position, but putting together a courageous effort.

With one game remaining in the round, next week’s results will be a tussle for second, third and fourth placings going into the semifinals. Kaierau Gemini Pepper A2, Tech A1 and Mt View Marist A2 all sit on 10 points. Tech A1 had a narrow win by a one-goal margin against the Kaierau A2 side. At three-quarters time Tech had a six-goal lead, but the quick scoring of Kaierau brought the score back to level with only 30 seconds to go. A smart centre pass by Tech and a clutch goal from Shannon Watana-Slade took Tech out by one goal and did not leave Kaierau with enough time to score. The Tech team were ecstatic with the win — a much-improved performance since the last time these teams met.

In another closely fought game, Kaierau Moore Markhams A3 came out victorious with their first win of the season, beating the young Whanganui High School juniors 23-21. The win came down to the last few minutes of the game. High School GS Maddie Marwick had her best game of the season, with Paige Smith providing some much-needed punch through the midcourt.

“Although these girls are facing some losses this year, it’s been exciting to see the depth of netball at Whanganui High School for the future,” coach Bailee Kauika said.

The Property Brokers Club Netball Competition played on Saturdays at Laird Park has its third game of the round this Saturday. Waimarino sit at the top of the table in the top Premier 3 grade, but with some close scores in the round, it will be an exciting few weeks leading into semis and finals.